


Chained Up

by lakeffectkids



Series: Chained Up [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, after overwatch, hanzo had never joined, hanzo is a motherfucking dragon god, i'll add tags to this as i need them, slight canon with my own spin on things, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 14:04:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8449030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lakeffectkids/pseuds/lakeffectkids
Summary: Hanzo has been living with this for as long as he can remember. Being in the body of a dragon is not something that a person gets used to.Or the fic in which McCree teaches Hanzo how to be human again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello this is going to be my nanowrimo this year, i don't think i'll update this every day on here but I'll see how i feel about it. NOT BETA'D (anyone interested in doing it for me?)

The shift is always uncomfortable, but Hanzo has been doing this for years and it almost gets easier. Hanzo thinks that the only reason why he becomes a man anymore is to know that he still can. He fears that one day he may never be able to see his own face again. It would only make sense for the sins that he had performed. The man rolls his shoulder, hearing and feeling his bones and body start to shift, his features elongating, claws replacing fingernails as his body hunched over onto all fours, scales taking shape where skin had once been. The scales shimmered emerald green with undertones of blue, a dark mane resting from the top of his head and down his back.

  


Hanzo makes his way into his hutch, a large thing that he'd spent some time making himself. A place to keep himself out of the snow if need be, a home with various rooms for him that was much too big for him as a human. He lays himself down, curling around himself as he lets himself sleep. The man feels more normal when he is no longer human; as though this is who he is meant to be in the first place. He can still remember the day that this happened, it's still a sore spot in his heart.

  


It had been Hanzo's burden to kill his brother. Hanzo's burden, as well as his duty, but that didn't make it easier. Seeing the look on his younger brother's face as Hanzo watched his life slip away. The memory still plagues Hanzo whenever he closes his eyes. 

  


The grief had been too much for the man, and when Hanzo had woken up the next morning he was not in his own body. A much larger, lethal body with scales had taken shape.  
  
That had happened almost fifteen years ago. Hanzo finds it harder and harder to shift back from a dragon to a man, getting used to his body. He was living in the mountains by himself, little to no human interaction for as long as he could remember. Those travelers or thereover that had dared to step foot up on his mountain didn't live to tell the tale about it. The man preferred his solitude. He felt that it was only fitting for the sins that he had committed and had to atone for. After several times of this happening throughout the years a tale was spun from the incidents. A story about the God on the mountain whose wrath was a force to be reckoned with. That every man that had found himself on the mountain had completely disappeared, never to be heard from again. 

  
  


This is where McCree had currently found himself now. The sharpshooter had been bouncing around and working under the table jobs just to get by. After Blackwatch had fallen through and the disband of Overwatch, the man was left with empty pockets and almost nothing to show for all of his hard effort.  
  
McCree would be lying if he said he didn't miss everyone at least a little bit. He'd made a home in Overwatch, and had spent many years there with everyone else. They'd all lived together, or close enough to see each other nearly every day if they weren't out on a job. He was close with damn near everyone, and he'd had many good memories.  
  
After the war with the Omnics and the military's decision that Overwatch needed to be disbanded, McCree didn't know what else to do with himself. This was all that he had ever known, the man had to teach himself how to live in society again. He still felt the itch to grab his gun at any sudden noise, always feeling like he'd had to watch his back. It was... almost peaceful living this way, but boring as hell.  
  
The jobs that McCree did now ranged anywhere from helping an eldery woman carry groceries from her car into the house, to things similar to what he did in Blackwatch.  
McCree wasn't proud of the things that he'd had to do, but when you had to keep your head above water you got a little desperate. If nothing else, McCree could at least admit how far he'd come since his days in Blackwatch. Things hadn't started out bad, but by the end McCree had been all too happy to join in with Overwatch.  
  
Watching Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison kill each other had been the icing on the shitcake.  
  
McCree cursed under his breath as he rubbed his hands together while scaling himself up the side of the mountain. It had been a lot colder than he'd anticipated. "Thought heat was s'pose to rise 'n all that," He murmured under his breath. "Guess that kind of logic doesn't apply when it comes ta mountains."  
  
McCree had almost turned this job down, but the money had been too nice and had definitely gotten his interest in the job. It was a simple in and out kind of deal. Go up on the side of the mountain and scope it out, return with some information and get paid for it.  
  
Should be pretty simple, yeah? Except it probably wasn't going to be.  
  
McCree had heard the stories of this mountain, and while death didn't scare him he was pretty sure he knew the real reason why all of these men hadn't been able to return. He was fairly certain that they'd all frozen to death.  
  
McCree didn't much believe in fairy tales, or Gods for that matter. He'd fallen away from God a long time ago when he'd decided his path of life.  
  
He still liked to humor himself and think that maybe he could be Saved.  
  
He figured there was nothing to fear and that he'd probably come back empty handed, or with very little information to even be satisfying. So long as the sharpshooter got paid he cared about little else. Except for maybe his gun.  
  
As the peak of the mountain gets closer into his view, McCree feels the ground rumbling underneath him and the sound of.... thunder? No, that's not right. It may be snowing but McCree is pretty sure that it can't thunder at the same time.  
  
It takes McCree some time and more walking to realize the rumbling is more of a snore than it is a thundering sound, and the hair on the back of his neck stands on end, he's a little stiff with his hand hovering over his gun, ready to use it if need be.  
  
McCree reaches the top of the mountain, his body feeling heavier here, and the snow is the thickest, falling in blankets across the peak of the mountain. It's then that he sees it; the hutch. He takes a step back, admiring the building and wondering how something like that had gotten all the way up here. McCree hadn't seen any form of civilization for miles.  
  
He decides to not test his fate too much, using his experience from Blackwatch and Overwatch to keep his footsteps quiet, even in the crunching snow as he slides around the side of the home, glancing around the corner. It's then that McCree realizes that the rumbling had completely stopped. He'd been too engrossed in not making any noise himself that he failed to notice that it had been some time since it had stopped.  
  
McCree barely hears it in time and his hand is on his gun, whipping around to face behind him, grunting as an arrow pierces his shoulder, right where his bionic arm meets skin, rendering it nearly useless. He curses under his breath, quick to switch his gun to his nondominant hand, only to have it quickly kicked out of the way, taking a bow to the side of the face.  
  
McCree grunts, flown onto his back as he groaned, feeling dizzy, definitely going to leave a bruise and a possible black eye. He squeezes his eyes shut tight, willing his head to stop spinning before he opens his eyes and comes face to.... arrow?  
  
McCree's eyes are crossed as he stares at the weapon pointed right between his eyes, slowly following up the arrow and to the bow, to the man holding it and McCree feels his stomach flip. He's just about the prettiest damn thing McCree has ever had the pleasure of seeing.  
  
"Who are you?" Hanzo demands, drawing his bow back farther, ready to shoot if McCree doesn't give him an answer that he's pleased with.  
  
"Now hold it right there, partner--" McCree isn't able to finish his sentence before Hanzo releases the arrow, the sharp point grazing the side of McCree's cheek and sticking into the ground aside the sharpshooter's head.  
  
McCree feels the small line of blood drawn on his skin.  
  
"I won't ask again. Next time I won't miss." Hanzo's voice is low as he draws another arrow, aiming it back between McCree's eyes and he knows he has to be careful with what he says next or else Hanzo will make a shish kabob out of him.  
  
McCree moves to put his good hand up in surrender, but Hanzo is quick to it and he steps on his fingers, making the man wince. Sheesh, this guy sure didn't get out much or interact with people.  
  
Though McCree could hardly blame the guy, seeing as how he was the one that was trespassing here.  
  
"Name's McCree," The sharpshooter explains as he looks up at Hanzo, meeting the other man's eyes. "Mind steppin' off my only good hand there partner? Y'kinda fucked up the only other one that I got." He explains.  
  
Hanzos' eyebrows pull together in disgust as he makes a face, watching the man closely. "I have no reason to trust you," He explains. "You are not welcomed here. Leave immediately."  
  
"See, now I would love t'do that except fer the fact that I kinda can't. Ya got me in a bind here," McCree gives a humorless chuckle.  
  
McCree can see Hanzo thinking it over before the shorter man agrees and moves himself away from McCree, but makes sure to keep his bow drawn. "You are free to go. My generosity only lasts for so long, leave or let yourself die here."  
  
McCree takes his time getting up, making sure to brush all of the snow off of himself, checking on his bionic arm and making a small tsking noise. He'll definitely have to see if he can find Angela to do anything about this. She's going to be right pissed off at him, but in his defense it was only half his fault.  
  
McCree almost forgets Hanzo is there until he hears the man growl. Actual growl. A low rumble that takes McCree by surprise as he turns to look at the smaller man.  
"Now hold on--" McCree says, and he can see the hostility in Hanzo's face.  
  
"I've got some questions for ya first."


	2. Unfortunate Circumstances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McCree gets a little more than he's bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a lot more positive feedback on the first chapter than i thought I was going to! I might end up posting these every day after all c: leave comments and kudos or maybe come and say hi to me at my tumblr! (www.hauntedpunk.tumblr.com)

Hanzo stared at McCree incredulously, trying to work it out in his mind where McCree had went wrong and misunderstood the two simple words "Go Away". McCree wasn't the kind of man to take a hint, and he was very persistent when he wanted to be.  
  
"You say that as though you're going to get any information out of me," Hanzo points out, not once letting his arm relax on his bow, ready to shoot if need be.  
  
"I get the feelin' that you don't see a whole lotta people," McCree gives a small grin, keeping a comfortable distance away from Hanzo, giving the man his space. "Look--"  
  
"No."  
  
"Ya didn't even listen to what I have t'say," McCree made and set his good hand onto his hip. "I was asked to come here. Before ya even ask, I don't know who the guy was. He didn't give me his name or nothin', an' I couldn't see his face." When it came to a job and getting his money, he only said what was necessary. Learning the man's name and face wasn't exactly one of the things that were discussed. So long as McCree was paid for his information, everything would be fine and dandy.  
  
Hanzo didn't look pleased with this, which made McCree's shoulders slump a little. "C'mon partner, cut me a little bit of slack here, yeah?" He gave Hanzo his best smile.  
Hanzo's face could have been sculpted out of stone. He hadn't budged an inch.  
  
McCree deflated a little bit. "The faster that ya give me the information that I'm lookin' for, the faster that it'll get me outta yer hair." He was getting a little desperate here. If he came back empty handed he was sure that he wouldn't get the pay that he needed. There were only a few hours left to go before he had to leave to meet up with the man to talk about what he had seen.  
  
"I have asked you to leave and already and you have not listened to my request, my patience has worn thin. You are leaving now," Hanzo said simply and brought his bow up to his face, aiming it toward McCree.  
  
"Whoa there," McCree laughed. "Awright, a man can take the hint when he's not wanted around. Jus' needed to give the guy a little bit of info about what was goin' on up here. But I think that I've got 'nuf to keep 'em satisfied," He explained. "So I'll be taking my leave now." McCree figured that his current boss wouldn't mind too much with what little information that he had. No one else had gotten this far and lived to tell about it, if what he had heard from the stories were true. As far as McCree was concerned, this was a win-win. He would just explain about the strange and beautiful man on top of the mountain who didn't seem to like anyone.  
  
It was more information than anyone else had ever gotten. He might get half of the money that he's been promised, if he's lucky. McCree wasn't ready to fully give up, though. If his boss had let him, he would come up here a second time and see if he couldn't have any better luck the second time around. Besides, he wouldn't mind seeing the man's face again. If only he could convince Hanzo that he really meant no harm. He just wanted to get the information that he needed and Hanzo would probably never see him again.  
McCree watched Hanzo as he walked back, making sure to keep eye contact with him. The last thing that the sharpshooter needed was an arrow in his back. He glanced down, seeing his gun on the ground and he watched Hanzo closely, seeing the man tense as McCree reached down to grab it. "M'not gonna do anything," McCree promsied as he grabbed for his gun. "Ya kinda made that impossible for me when ya disabled my shootin' arm," He put his gun away before standing back up straight.  
  
"Can I just ask ya something? How long have you been up here for anyway?" Hanzo acted as though he hadn't had any human interaction in years, which probably wasn't far from the truth.  
  
"That's two things, and neither one of them are your concern," Hanzo's patience was gone by now, and he felt himself growing increasingly more irritated, his face twisting in discomfort as he snarled, the dragon within him wishing to be released. He'd kept his human body for too long and now he was paying for it. This had happened every single time someone decided that they had wanted to come and pay the "God of the Mountain" a visit. It was always the same story every time, a person wanting to prove that the legend was false, or someone who had wanted to show off to their friends. Hanzo would always warn them to leave, he would give them their chance to, but everyone was hellbent on staying and seeing what the mountain top was all about.  
  
Hanzo didn't /want/ to kill anybody, but the dragon within him did. He couldn't stop the beast when all it lusted for was blood. The beast had a will to protect the mountain top. He wanted Hanzo to be alone and without anyone, to atone for his sins. This is what Hanzo had believed. There was nothing that he could do to stop it. The dragon had a will of its own.  
  
"Leave." Hanzo's voice was not his own, dripping with malice and sounding more like the demon that he was becoming.  
  
McCree was frozen in spot, his feet feeling glued to the ground. His mind was screaming at him to run, this was a fucking /dragon/ for coming out loud. Hanzo was becoming a dragon. The reality of it all was starting to dawn on McCree. *This* is what everyone had been talking about when they'd talked about the God on the mountain. It was Hanzo.  
  
Hanzo is just as beautiful as he is lethal. McCree is enthralled by him, watching him with an almost awe as Hanzo’s body contorts and shifts from the man that had been in front of him to the beast that is there now. McCree feels almost sorry for the man, the shift is in no way pleasant at all and Hanzo doesn’t look to be aware of his surroundings as he gets used to his new body once more. The dragon looks almost dazed, his shoulders hunching as a low rumble emanates from the dragon’s chest while it rolls its shoulders, the last of its body finishing the transformation.  
McCree finally found the use of his legs, stumbling his way back away from Hanzo. McCree’s eyes widened, the smaller man now fully transformed into a dragon that must have nearly twenty feet tall. “Well shit,” he mutters under his breath. His own voice sounded strained even to him, wanting to keep quiet while Hanzo didn’t appear to know that he was there. He watched Hanzo, keeping his eyes on the dragon as he walked his way back, looking for shelter. The dragon didn’t appear to see him, or know that he was even there. McCree planned to keep it that way.  
  
McCree’s foot finds the root of one of the trees, and he can’t catch himself as he falls, barely suppressing a grunt as he lands on his back for the second time that day. McCree locks eyes with the dragon, his fight for flight instincts instantly kicking in.  
  
The sharpshooter is quick to get up to his feet this time, not bothering to look over his shoulder as he runs down the side of the mountain. He doesn’t need to see Hanzo to know that the creature is following after him. He can hear the snapping of the trees as Hanzo lunges himself into the forest to pursue McCree. He thanks every God under the sun that, if nothing else, he was quick on his feet and could get away and hide if necessary. Hanzo was a pretty big target, so he would be easy to keep an eye on so that McCree knew where he had to hide. If he could help it, McCree didn’t want to shoot or hurt Hanzo, but if worse comes to worst he would have to shoot the dragon.  
  
Even after everything that McCree had done in his lifetime, the man still had morals. It wouldn’t feel right harming the dragon when Hanzo didn’t even seem to be in his right state of mind. The archer had been the one to give him the warning in the first place, and McCree had taken it upon himself not to listen to Hanzo and leave when the man had asked. As far as McCree was concerned, he’d brought this upon himself. Karma if you will. He just had to make sure that he got out of this alive. Hanzo had been a little hostile before, but it was nothing compared to like this was now.  
  
McCree just had to get to safety first. His eyes darted every which way, keeping track of his surroundings and looking for anything that he might be able to use as cover. He no longer heard the trees snapping behind him, and he dared to turn around in time to see Hanzo using his momentum to lunge himself up into the air. McCree barely had enough time to stop himself, sliding down the mountain a few feet thanks to all of the snow. Hanzo lands in front of McCree this time and the man curses under his breath, turning himself around to run back up the mountain. It’s harder this way, and McCree’s feet are slipping out from under him after almost every step.  
  
“This ain’t how I wanna go,” McCree grunts as he turns again, facing the massive beast in front of him. The cowboy takes a deep breath and runs, watching Hanzo closely, moving out of the way of the swing of one of his claws, smirking to himself as he looked forward now, using the snow to his advantage, sliding on his side straight through the dragon’s legs, bouncing back up to his feet.  
  
“You may be pretty but you ain’t that smart,” McCree points out and chuckles to himself, when a clawed hand slams down in front of him, causing him to stop and change his direction, but Hanzo’s body is curled all around him, surrounding him on all sides. McCree looks around, his heart pounding with adrenaline in his chest as his eyes lock with Hanzo’s once more.  
  
“Well shit.”


	3. Deal Breaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McCree talks with his boss and gets an offer he might not be able to refuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's been a while since I've updated this. My life has been really stressful and hectic lately but things will get better. The next few chapters should be longer to make up for it.

McCree knew by now that he was probably royally fucked. There was not much that a man could do against a dragon. He couldn't just let himself sit there and be killed though. He watched Hanzo closely, rolling a few different scenarios over in his head to try and find the best option out of this.  
  
McCree was taken off guard though, watching Hanzo who was also... watching him? The dragon didn't seem to be making any hostile movement toward him, almost observing the man with his large golden eyes, calculating. This didn't help to stop McCree from feeling incredibly uneasy though. Hanzo was a dragon for crying out loud! Something that was supposed to only exist in Fairy Tails, and yet here McCree was, staring one in the face.  
  
The cowboy was able to get a better look at Hanzo from here though, now that he wasn't necessarily running from his life. That didn't mean that his life still wasn't in danger. He let himself barely relax, taking in the features of Hanzo. Beautiful green scales with a golden mane and eyes to match. What McCree was able to make out there were no wings on Hanzo, which McCree found himself almost disappointed about. Could Hanzo not fly? Was he more like a giant land lizard rather than a dragon?  
  
McCree slowly moved his hand to his gun, all the time keeping his eyes on the creature in front of him. McCree did not even dare to take his eyes away from Hanzo for fear of the creature snapping out of his trance at any moment to decide that McCree would actually be his next meal. The man watched as the dragon's mouth twitched up at the corner, a low rumbling sound emitting from the large creature when McCree realized that yep, Hanzo was snarling at him. Teeth and everything.  
  
McCree let his hand drop back down to his side, and Hanzo almost relaxed once more. McCree tried to rack his brain for ideas on why Hanzo wasn't attacking him. He'd been hell bent on killing the man not even ten minutes prior. The only conclusion that McCree could come up with was that Hanzo no longer saw him as a threat, which made him feel a little better. Maybe that meant that Hanzo wasn't a threat to him, either. So long as it didn't involve his gun, because Hanzo definitely did not seem to be a fan of it. Out of the question. McCree felt naked without it though, like he couldn't properly protect himself.  
  
Now the man was at a loss at what he was supposed to do or what he even COULD do at this point. Hanzo didn't appear to want to let him leave, but McCree didn't exactly want to stay. Sure, the man was beautiful but he had a lot of packaging with him that McCree wasn't really sure he was equipped to handle. Besides the point that Hanzo didn't appear to like company, let alone like McCree. He couldn't really blame the archer though, not with this hidden secret. Especially if the dragon wasn't something that Hanzo could control. He wanted to ask him about it, but one: he couldn't at the moment, and two: Hanzo didn't seem like the share and care kind of person.  
  
McCree lost track of time, not knowing how long they'd been sitting there for, all but staring at each other. It was long past the awkward stage now, and McCree's ass was starting to fall asleep. He needed to move, to do something, but Hanzo was still very much still present. McCree could feel himself starting to fall asleep, which is probably the only thing that he could do at the moment, but Hanzo didn't seem to be favoring much better. The creature kept looking back from McCree and out over the horizon, keeping an eye on the forest down below whilst simultaneously making sure that McCree wasn't going anywhere. Hint: he wasn't. Or, a better way to put it was that he COULDN'T go anywhere. Not at the moment anyway. Might as well get comfortable.  
  
By the time that McCree had woken up, he was shivering from head to toe. He cursed softly under his breath as he moved a little bit and froze, feeling the heat of someone's breath on him. He turned, seeing the dragon sound asleep. He studied him for a moment, waiting for any signs of life. When he couldn't see anything, he swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly rose up to his feet. Hanzo might have been there to keep him somewhat warm but McCree had been laying in the snow the whole night. He was surprised he hadn't died of hypothermia. He should probably be thankful for that, though. He could hardly feel his hands anymore.  
  
McCree slowly got up to his feet, watching Hanzo while he backed away from him, careful of not touching the dragon or to not step on anything that might wake him from his slumber. He rubbed his hands together, trying to get some feeling back into them as his foot bumped into something. McCree's heart jumped into his throat and he looked down, breathing a sigh of relief when he'd noticed that it was only his gun. He reached down, placing it back into its holster where the gun belonged.  
  
McCree looked back when he got a safe distance away, eyeing Hanzo's sleeping form as he gave a small frown. He almost felt bad leaving while Hanzo was still sleeping, but he couldn't stay there. He felt trapped, and he had no idea what Hanzo was planning on doing with him. Hanzo could snap at any moment and easily kill McCree if the man wasn't careful enough.  
  
The sharpshooter made fast work of getting down the side of the mountain again, letting the snow carry him down most of the way. He walked up to his tent that he had pitched down at the bottom, grabbing a towel to dry himself off and attempt to warm up. He wrapped himself in the blanket and sat down on the floor, pulling out his communicator from his bag as he made a call to his current boss. He hugged his arms around himself and blew into his hands to try to heat them up. He wished he'd had a portable heater roght about now. He didn't expect to be staying here this long though. His expectations were to come in, get his information, scale down the mountain again to nap for a few hours out of the cold and under some blankets, and then get his information to his boss.  
  
Things didn't always work out in McCree's favor, though. In fact, the majority of the time this was the case. McCree had to improvise more often than not, which was a little stressful for him but at least it kept him on his toes. It was a part of the job, right?  
  
McCree closed his eyes as he listened to the ringing on the opposite line. "C'mon man, pick up..." He murmured under his breath.  
  
"Mr. McCree," He heard the man answer and he visibly relaxed as he rubbed his face slowly and then sighed into the receiver. 

  


"Things... did not go how I was expectin' them," McCree explains. "I do have some information for ya, turns out there is a fucking dragon that's protectin' the god damn mountain," All of this was finally starting to dawn on McCree and catch up to him. He'd survived an encounter with a dragon. Or, to pe precise, a man that could turn into a dragon. "That's where all y'all are gettin' the impression that there's a God on the mountain. He... the dragon is actually a man," He frowned. "I know it's hard t'believe, but ya gotta trust me on this one. He's a man that transforms into a dragon. I don't think the guy can help it, either." McCree reaches into his bag and pulls out one of his cigars. After all of this he needs a smoke and maybe a long night of drinking. Rewarding himself with the money that he'll get paid with, of course.  
  
"Mmm..." The man on the other end of the line mused. "It's just as I'd thought. Thank you, Mr. McCree, for confirming my suspicions for me."  
  
"Wait, ya mean to tell me ya knew about it and ya still sent me up there anyway?" McCree tried not to sound too offended.  
  
"I did not feel that your life was in immediate danger."  
  
"My life wasn't... are you kiddin' me? He was ready to eat me!" McCree was almost shouting now, but not wanting to be too loud. Hanzo was still on the top of the mountain and he didn't know what the man's hearing was like as a dragon.  
  
"And yet here you are," The man on the other line mused. "Mr. McCree... if you would humor me some more, I'd like for you to go back up to the top of that mountain and talk to the man while he is still a man. See what other information that you can get."  
  
"Ya say that like it's easy," McCree murmured under his breath. "Listen, I tried to talk t'him but he wasn't interested in even listenin' to me. He was hell bent on getting me to leave. I don't think he wants any company," He explained. 

  


"That's precisely why you should go back up there again and try again. He hasn't had much human contact in the last fifteen years," The man explains. "But I believe that the more you try, the more that he will open up."  
  
"I'm sorry but that's outta my pay rate," McCree said and waved his hand as he leaned back and took a long drag from his cigar. 

  


"You think that I would make you do this for free, Mr. McCree?" He could hear the smile in the man's voice. "I believe that you will not turn me down once you hear what I have to offer."


	4. I walk the line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McCree goes to see Hanzo again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a little jumbled I am very tired at the moment. If you want to talk to me you can do so at my tumblr! (www.hauntedpunk.tumblr.com)

McCree doesn't know how he lets himself get talked into these situations. He liked to think of himself as a smart man, so why did he continuously make stupid decisions? Like agreeing to scale the mountain again to try to talk to Hanzo once more. He didn't actually expect much from this, but if his boss was sure that maybe it would help, he just had to hope that maybe he wouldn't die. He was lucky the first time but he couldn't be so sure that he'd be lucky again.

  
His boss had guaranteed his safety, but that didn't help to ease his nerves. It only put him more on edge, if anything. Now McCree knew that his boss had known about Hanzo all along, or at least he had a feeling about what was going on up on the mountain. His boss had just failed to relay any of the information to him, or he didn't think that maybe the fact that Hanzo was a dragon was something important that maybe McCree should know about. So he could be more prepared to deal with it.

  
The man would never admit it to anyone but for the few days that he'd been back into the city he'd had reoccuring nightmares, not necessarily of what had happened up on the mountain, or even in Blackwatch which had been the nightmares that had plagued him once upon a time. He could never remember what his nightmares were about once he'd woken up, but he always knew he felt like he'd lost something. Or someone. It always made him feel uneasy, wishing that he could remember it, because not knowing was only making it worse.

  
McCree sat himself at the bar, a little bit before dusk, finishing off one of his beers. He figured that he owed himself a drink for having to deal with this shit again.  
Although... McCree would be lying to himself though if he'd said he didn't actually want to go back up there. He wasn't a suicidal man, but he wanted to know the secrets behind Hanzo. As far as he was concerned he was the only man that had survived going up to the top of the mountain and coming back down to tell the tale about it. He wanted to know why, of all people, Hanzo would choose to not kill him? Or maybe it wasn't as much of a coincidence as he thought it was. Maybe Hanzo gave all of the others the same warnings that he'd given to McCree, but they'd attacked him anyways and Hanzo had killed them on self defense.

  
At this point anything was plausible, but one thing that McCree knew for certain was that he had to go back. He needed some answers, not just for his boss but also for himself.

  
What if Hanzo remembered what had happened? How conscious was he while he was a dragon? Did Hanzo remember not killing McCree while he was up there, basically letting McCree escape? Would Hanzo be angry about it? Would he finish the job this time? The curiosity itself was probably the reasoning behind McCree agreeing to going up on this suicide mission again. Definitely not for the amount of money that his boss was willing to pay him.

  
.... Maybe that had a little bit to do with it.

  
McCree was only human and he had to make do and take what he could get to live, right? This was probably the best paying job he'd had since he'd been in Overwatch or Blackwatch.

  
Nearly a week had passed since McCree's first trip up to the top of the mountain. Now that he knew what he was to expect up there he felt like he could go up a little bit more prepared this time. Or about as prepared as you can be when you're dealing with a mythical creature. He'd stocked himself up on supplies that he thought he would need, as well as getting himself more ammo. He hadn't had to use his gun, but that didn't mean he wouldn't have to use it this time.  
  
The man let out a slow breath as he removed his hat from his head to run his fingers through his hair, letting the hat drop back into place. Might as well get to it before he could change his mind about it and decide that he indeed actually did want to live.

  
"Let's jus' hope that our little friend is a forgivin' man," The sharpshooter murmured under his breath as he grabbed up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, his tent packed up in a different bag that he held under his arm. He didn't exactly want to stay too close to Hanzo if he could help it, but he wanted to be able to stay close enough that he could make continuous visits up to the top of the mountain to talk to the man.... if he survived this attempt.

  
"This had better be worth it," He sighed out and headed his way out of the safety of his hotel room that he'd been staying in for the last few days, making his way out of the city. He'd decided to set out at night this time, wanting to keep a low profile. He was still a wanted man after all and he didn't exactly want to draw attention to himself if he could help it.

  
McCree holds his hand tight down on his head as he starts to scale up the side of the mountain. The wind is a lot worse today than it was yesterday, but at the very least it's not nearly as cold as it was. Even with all of the snow. McCree manages to find a spot a little more than halfway up the mountain that's mostly out of the open and tucked behind a large boulder to keep his tent safe from the wind, deciding to pitch it there. He sets up his little camp, coming more prepared this time with a portable heater, and also food. Enough to last him a few days if he needs it.

  
McCree leaves everything in the tent except for his gun, taking that with him as he makes his way back up towards the top. It's after dark by now, spending more time setting up his camp than he originally intended to.

  
There is silence when he gets to the top of the mountain, which is different from the last time but McCree can only assume that means that Hanzo is awake. The thought should make him feel less anxious than it does, but he was hoping he'd have to come back in the morning while Hanzo was awake. He wasn't necessarily.... afraid of Hanzo, but he would be stupid if he wasn't cautious around the man. He didn't know anything that Hanzo was capable of.

  
"You have a lot of nerve to come and show your face around here again," The voice is behind him and when McCree turns, he's met face to face with an arrow once more.

  
McCree gives a small smile as he holds up his hands. "This sceneario looks familiar," He mused, trying to make light of the situation. "We didn't exactly get off on the right foot yesterday, and I came ta change that," He extends his hand toward Hanzo for him to shake.

McCree doesn't expect much from Hanzo, but what he really didn't expect was for Hanzo to turn up his nose at McCree's offer, sneering at his hand.

  
"Now hold on, that's just rude," McCree makes a face. "Usually when a man offers another man his hand the polite thing ta do here is to shake back," He is patient though and extends his hand out closer to Hanzo.

  
If nothing else, McCree is a very persistent man who doesn't know when to give up.

  
McCree can just see how tense Hanzo is, from the way his shoulders are wound up while he holds his bow, the posture of his body as he stares McCree down, but McCree doesn't let up; he just waits.

  
It seems like an eternity before Hanzo barely loosens his hold on his bow, his sneer turning more into a soft scowl, frowning as he looks from McCree's hand and back to the man's face. "Why have you not retreated your hand yet?" The archer asks. "Are you usually this dense or do I need to tell you that I do not intend to shake?"

  
"C'mon partner," McCree wiggles his fingers and grins at Hanzo. At least the man is no longer pointing the arrow directly at him, he can count that as a slight win. He can almost see Hanzo's resolve breaking a little, watching as the archer all but sighs and rolls his eyes. Hanzo hesitates a moment, using the end of his bow to hook under McCree's gun, pulling it straight from his belt and out of the man's reach.

  
"You should be more careful when yer grabbing for a man's gun, 'cuz it might be loaded," McCree can't stop himself from smirking. "What? Do you not trust me?"  
  
"No." Hanzo doesn't even hesitate, his answer short and clipped.

  
"I'm hurt," McCree says, but keeps his hand where it is.

  
"A fair warning that if you try anything I will not hesitate to kill you," Hanzo is staring at McCree's face now, searching for any traces of a plan of attack.  
McCree keeps that stupid smirk on his face. Hanzo wants to punch it off, and he likes to pride himself in usually being a calm and composed man.

Hanzo finally gives in, sighing once more as he extends his hand back to grip McCree's, giving him a firm shake.

  
"Now ya see, that wasn't so hard was it?" McCree lets his hand drop back down to his side as his thumbs hook into his belt while he smirks at the archer. He counts himself another victory.

  
"You like to try my patience," Hanzo scowls at the other man and watches McCree for a few more moments before he deems the man to not me a threat to him. He narrows his eyes and puts his arrow back into the quiver and then sets his bow away. "Why have you come back?" He frowned. "I think I made myself clear yesterday when I told you that I did not want you to be here."

  
"I guess that I don't know how to take a hint," McCree shrugged and watched Hanzo, feeling himself relax when he had seen the archer put away his weapon. At least Hanzo was showing that he at least trusted him enough to not think that McCree would try to harm him. That was a start, right?

  
"You should heed people's warnings, they are there for a reason. I believe that I showed you my reasoning yesterday," Hanzo mused, but if McCree wished to risk himself who was Hanzo to tell him that he couldn't? Though he was curious why his dragon hadn't killed McCree, like it had killed every other man before him. It made him curious what about the sharpshooter it was that interested the creature so much that he felt the need to let him survive.

  
Hanzo didn't wait for McCree before he turned and walked his way back into his home, McCree taking it as a hint to follow after the other man. He looked around when they got into Hanzo's home and whistled slowly. "Pretty nice place ya got here," He said and turned to look at Hanzo. "I don't think you ever gave me your name?" He asked and smiled a little bit.

  
"... Hanzo," He almost sounds like he's bitter and reluctant to tell McCree about it but he does so anyway. If only because he wanted to ask McCree some questions himself.

  
"Pretty name fer a pretty face," McCree hummed out and followed Hanzo into what he guessed was the dining room area while Hanzo sat himself down on one of the mats in front of his table, taking up his tea to sip from it while McCree sat on the other side of the table.

"It is polite to take off your shoes when you enter someone else's home," Hanzo says over the top of his tea as he eyes McCree closely.

  
"What--" McCree looks down and then give a short laugh. "Oh, yeah no problem," He pulled his shoes off and set them by the door before he went back to join Hanzo at the table, hesitating a moment. "Does this mean that yer willing to answer my questions?" He asked as he watched Hanzo, gauging him for a reaction.

The archer was quiet for a moment while he finished off his cup of tea, frowning as he cupped his hands around the glass while he set it back down on the table, eyeing McCree without saying a word.

  
"Alright..." McCree muttered under his breath as he let out a sigh. Where was he going to start? He moved and set his elbows on the table while he leaned forward and watched Hanzo. "I was sent here to ask you some questions," He said. "A man came and hired me to find out what was going on on the top of the mountain, all the stories kinda add up ya know? And it's no wonder no one else survived, because yer a fucking DRAGON," McCree was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around that concept, "but what I want to know is.... why didn't you kill me?" He asked and frowned. "I mean, don't get me wrong I'm not complainin' in the least, cuz as far as I'm concerned I rather like being alive but y'know, all the stories that you hear are of just people comin' up here to die and never return. So... why me?"  
  
Hanzo frowns, concern and confusion coming across his face and McCree almost worried himself thinking that he'd asked the wrong question. "... So you don't know either," Hanzo sounds disappointed, but that only adds to McCree's confusion. "I was hoping you had an idea as to why the dragon decided that you were worthy enough to escape," Hanzo gave his own coy smirk.

  
"Wait... the dragon?" McCree asked. "Yer saying it as if it's another entity entirely. Are you not in control of that dragon?" He had a feeling that was the case, but that only made him more nervous.

  
"That is... correct to an extent," Hanzo sighed. He hadn't talked to anyone about this ever, and he didn't know how much he wanted to tell McCree, he didn't like the man being up here in the first place. But the dragon trusted McCree so Hanzo figured that maybe... he could open up if only a little bit. "I lose almost all consciousness while the dragon takes over. Most of the time when I come back as a man I do not remember what has happened before," He explained.  
  
Huh. That was a little concerning. A lot concerning, actually. Who knows what kind of things Hanzo has done as a dragon that he doesn't remember?  
  
McCree worries his lips between his teeth and watched Hanzo. "You.... definitely looked like you were gonna attack me," He pointed out. "I honestly thought that I was a dead man. You chased me down half the mountain and when ya finally had me cornered you didn't... do anything," He admitted. "I can't explain it."

  
"Hmmm..." Hanzo hummed out to let McCree know that he was listening, while completely engrossed into his own thoughts, eyebrows pulled together. He had a few sinking feelings of the reasonings behind why his dragon wouldn't want to kill McCree, but none of them were something that Hanzo was willing to think about at the moment. He didn't have the full story so he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was just yet. It could also be the possibility of it being only a one time deal. Maybe his dragon wouldn't be so forgiving next time.

  
Hanzo winced lightly, rotating his shoulder and neck. He can feel the dragon stirring under his skin. He'd spent many hours as a man now and the dragon was starting to get restless once more. Hanzo was begining to become uneasy, having a harder time keeping the dragon at bay. He didn't feel like it was a danger just yet, though.

  
"I left while you were sleepin'," McCree continued with his story when he noticed that Hanzo wasn't going to put any of his own input in. "Though you probably coulda guessed that when you woke up and didn't see me there..." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "How... did you become a dragon in the first place?" He asked. "Was it something that you were born as?"

  
Hanzo shook his head. "That is something I will not talk about," He didn't exactly sound harsh, but his voice was clipped and certain. He would not budge on this and he was telling McCree without using so many words to not talk about it again. McCree could take that hint at least.

  
"Never mind then..." McCree sighed. That was apparently out of the comfort zone, maybe they could work up to that if he got Hanzo to open up more. "What are you okay with telling me? I don't really have any more questions for you that I can think of just yet darlin', but I'm open ears with whatever yer willing to tell me."  
Hanzo's shoulders bunched together as he shooks his head. "I would rather not," He said briskly.

McCree deflates a little. They'd come this far, he didn't want to back out just yet, but he could see Hanzo was closing back up again. 

 

"Okay..." McCree leaned forward. "Well, what--"

  
"You need to leave." Hanzo says suddenly, interrupting McCree before he can even gather all of his thoughts together. 

McCree sputters a little. "Pardon me?" He asked, not sure that he had heard Hanzo just right.

"Go. You have to leave, immediately," Hanzo said as he got up to his feet and backed away from the table. McCree was going to ask why, but he'd remembered from yesterday exactly what happened if he'd decided to stay around.

"GO!" When Hanzo spoke this time, his voice wasn't his own.

  
The last thing that McCree hears when he's running down the side of the mountain is a distant, pained roar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah this chapter is finally done and is longer like I intended it to be. The next few chapters will also be about this long until I catch up on my word count for nanowrimo! come say hi or talk about mchanzo with me at my tumblr (www.hauntedpunk.tumblr.com)


	5. Keep your eyes on Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McCree learns some interesting things about Hanzo and his dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for all of the positive feedback that I've been getting for my fic! I'm going to hopefully try updating it more regularly but with school and work I've been a little stressed out. This is the first multichapter fic that I've felt comfortable enough with publishing so it really makes me feel good to hear people's opinions about it c: as always, you can come and contact me at my tumblr (www.hauntedpunk.tumblr.com)

McCree wakes up crying the next morning. He’s in a cold sweat, heart is racing and memories flash through his mind but he can’t place any of them together. None of them are coherent enough to get much of anything out of it. The man curses under his breath as he pressed his palms to his eyes, sitting himself up as he lets himself wake up. When he feels composed enough he looks around the small tent that he had set up for himself and reflects back on what had happened yesterday. 

 

Nothing entirely significant had happened, but McCree had felt like they had broken the ice a little. Hanzo didn’t want to kick him off the top of the mountain, so that was good at least. He seemed willing to give McCree some information, which was more than the man could have hoped for from their first visit together. Hanzo still seemed too stiff around him, like he was wary. McCree couldn’t exactly blame the man for that, though. His boss had explicitly stated that Hanzo hadn’t had much human contact the last fifteen years. That was pretty obvious in itself just trying to communicate with Hanzo. His manners with people were atrocious, he was rather rude but got straight to the point. McCree could respect that about him.

 

The cowboy rubbed his face slowly, sighing under his breath before he got up to his feet. He grabbed for his communicator, checking the time at the top. Just after noon. How long had he been up there? McCree didn’t feel like he’d slept for that long. Maybe all of his nerves were starting to get to him. His nightmares didn’t help any, either. It made him feel a sense of unease that he couldn’t remember what had happened in them. They’d started back up again once he’d first come to the mountain to see Hanzo. 

 

All McCree knew was that it wasn’t his fear of Hanzo that was driving his fears. He wasn’t necessarily afraid of the man. Under all of those scales was another man that had a pocket full of secrets and a probable tragic backstory to go along with it. McCree had both of those. That was something that he could handle. 

 

Maybe if McCree were willing to share some of his own troubles, Hanzo would be willing to open up a little more with him? He knew there was only one way to find out; all he had to do was try. They’d made some progress last night, but McCree didn’t feel satisfied enough to contact his employer just yet with his newly discovered information. He was still angry with the man for  _ knowing  _ or at least having some sense of what McCree was getting himself into but didn’t even bother to warn the man about it. 

 

McCree sits himself down in front of a bucket, not having the luxury of having a shower down here with only a tent so he had to make do with what he had. He set up a fire and placed the bucket over it, brushing his fingers through his hair and ruffling it up to get rid of the flat parts from sleeping while he waited for his ‘bath’ to heat up. He grabbed a clean washcloth and pulled the bucket off of the fire before he put it out and dipped the washcloth into the bucket, rubbing it over his body and scrubbing himself down before he grabbed a clean down and dried himself off while he dumped out the water outside of his tent.

 

McCree let himself get dressed and adjusted his hat as he let out another sigh. “They say that third time’s the charm,” He murmured and grabbed for his cigars, lighting one as he took a long drag from it and grabbed his gun, checking to make sure it was fully loaded before he put the safety on and slid it back into the holster. He left the safety of the tent to make his journey up the mountain once more. He was sure he would know the side of this mountain very well by the end of this. He could almost see his track prints from the previous night, but the snow had covered most of them tracks that had been there. 

 

McCree let himself enjoy his cigar as he made his journey. If he had to deal with this shit at least he was going to enjoy himself while he did so. 

 

The peak of the mountain was closing in, McCree grabbed the cigar from his mouth and pressed it out on the bottom of his boot, tucking the rest of it away to have for later. They were expensive, damn it. He wasn’t going to waste them. 

 

McCree walked himself up onto the porch of the home, walking toward the door and he frowned, hearing the familiar rumbling he’d heard from the first night. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. McCree closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down. One of the first things to know about a predator is that they didn’t usually attack unless provoked to. He needed Hanzo to know that he wasn’t a threat and that he wasn’t going to be afraid of him. 

 

McCree reached out to grab the handle of the door and froze when the sudden rumbling had stopped. McCree’s mouth goes dry and he swallowed the lump in his throat, willing his heart to slow down as he counted to five slowly in his head. 

 

“Hanzo…?” McCree’s voice definitely did NOT crack, thank you very much.

 

The man wets his lips before he grabs at the handle of the door and slides it open, peering inside. The first thing that McCree notices is that this place looks more like a large dojo than an actual home, looking at both ends of the room he could see that there were hallways and other rooms to discover, but McCree doesn’t miss the dragon in the middle of the room, staring directly at him, golden eyes calculating.

 

McCree almost doubles back. “Christ,” He muttered under his breath and took a step back as he set his hand on the back of his hat and watched the dragon. Hanzo was beautiful even like this, but that didn’t make him any less intimidating, especially as he watched Hanzo stand up on all fours and stretch himself out, tail falling beside the man. He glanced down and blinked. Huh. Fur at the end of his tail, too. 

 

McCree looks up to Hanzo once more and he holds up one hand while the other slowly reached for his gun. He can see it in the creature’s body language that he’s getting defensive. The dragon’s shoulders hunch, almost as if ready to pounce as he growls low in his throat. A rumbling sound that goes straight through McCree, making the man wince.    
  
“I’m not gonna hurt ya,” McCree tried not to sound annoyed by it as he grabbed for his gun and pulled it out, keeping his movements slow as he set it down on the ground and gently used his boot to push it again from him. The hair on the back of Hanzo’s neck is bristling and McCree wants to laugh. His actions and mannerisms almost remind Hanzo of a giant cat. It’s almost more endearing when he thought of it that way. 

 

Hanzo looked down at the gun and used the end of his tail to grab it and pull it farther away from McCree, setting it aside in the corner.    
  
“Hey!” McCree said and frowned as he looked at Hanzo and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m trying to be civil here, but you’re going and hiding my stuff from me,” He said and raised an eyebrow. “If I didn’t know any better I would say that you’re being super childish about it,” He said. He heard Hanzo make a sound that was could have been a scoff. “Or maybe you’re just being cautious,” McCree said and shrugged as he walked over toward him and hesitated a bit as he set his hands on his hips and looked him over slowly.   
  
“They look like the ocean,” McCree mused as he tilted his head and got a better look of Hanzo’s scales in the light. They were definitely green, but they shimmered a light blue hue under the sunlight. He whistled a little and smiled. “Now I know ya probably don’t get this very often but, if ya get around all of that terrifying stuff about you being a dragon an’ all, yer actually beautiful,” He pointed out. “Y’know, in a ‘I could easily kill you with a swipe of my tail’ sort of way. Please don’t do that,” he laughed uneasily. “I just came here to talk?” He was giving Hanzo the option of saying no if he wasn’t comfortable with talking about it again.

 

Hanzo stuck up his nose and closed his eyes as he looked off to the side, letting himself lay back down again with his back feet tucked under himself and his front legs crossed over each other. He turned to look at McCree again and leaned his head forward, causing McCree’s breath hitch when Hanzo got too close. He pulled back and stumbled, falling onto his back as he looked up at the dragon. 

 

Was Hanzo… laughing? That’s at least what it sounded like. McCree felt his stomach flip with butterflies and he made a face as he pushed Hanzo’s face away before he got up to his feet. “Ha ha, bet ya think yer a real funny guy, don’tcha?” He asked and brushed himself off. “Yer not a big scary dragon, yer more like a giant cat,” He said as he set his hands on his hips, watching as Hanzo watched him back, seeing the dragon scoff again. McCree wants to roll his eyes into the back of his head and he sighed deeply as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn’t getting him anywhere. Hanzo and his dragon were two very different creatures entirely. Not just for obvious reasons, either.

 

“Look--I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” McCree said and hesitated as he looked at Hanzo, feeling his nerves raising again when the dragon’s attention was on him once more. His heartbeat escalated just slightly and he hesitated. “Can I--can we talk?” He asked and frowned. “I can’t exactly talk to you when you’re like….” he motioned toward Hanzo, “this.” He finished. “It’s more like I’m talking to myself. No offense or anything,” He gave a sheepish smile. 

 

Hanzo turned his head to the side for a moment before he rolled his shoulders slightly and gave a small pained sound before he shook his head. It was no use. He didn’t have enough energy to make himself a man once more. McCree blew out a puff of air. “Well…” He muttered before he took a seat on the floor and pulled his knees up, resting his forearms onto his knees as he looked up at Hanzo. “Guess we can keep it to yes or no questions?” He suggested. 

 

Hanzo hesitated once more before he nodded his head and got himself comfortable once more, keeping his eye on McCree. Sticking to just the basic yes and no questions were going to be harder than McCree thought it was going to be. “So… we already talked about how you don’t really have control over your dragon,” McCree recapped and then paused, remembering how Hanzo had said he very seldom remembered what had happened in his time as a dragon. Maybe his dragon would be more willing to share information with him… he seemed friendlier than the man, anyway.

 

McCree leaned back on his hands and looked up at the ceiling, rolling a few questions around in his head that he could ask. “Do you know why this happened to you?” He asked, watching as Hanzo hesitated once more before a slow nod of the head. “Is it something that can be undone? Or do you not know?” 

 

Hanzo shook his head this time. McCree frowned and chewed on his lip. “Do you… like being like this?” McCree turned his attention back toward Hanzo and froze for a moment when he saw the look on the dragon’s face, afraid that he’d asked the wrong question. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” He said, watching Hanzo shake his head. “No…? Is that a no that you don’t like being like this?” He asked.

 

Hanzo nodded and McCree felt his stomach sink. He’d already felt bad for the creature before, knowing that he had no control over this. But now? It only made him feel worse that Hanzo didn’t even want to be like this. “I’m… sorry?” McCree didn’t know what to say in situations like this. He knew there was probably nothing that he could do about it, but he couldn’t help apologizing for it anyway, wanting to comfort the creature somehow.

 

Hanzo lets out a slow sigh as he laid his head back down, looking away from McCree now as he let himself get comfortable where he was. McCree watched him slowly and got up to his feet before he walked over and hesitated when he watched Hanzo’s ears perk up, seeing the dragon watching him from the corner of his eye. He made his movements slow, showing no signs of hurting Hanzo as he held out his hand. He was giving Hanzo the option of pulling away if he’d wanted to, but instead Hanzo just moved closer to McCree, closing the gap between the two of them so that Hanzo was brushing his hand across the scales. McCree let out a surprised breath he didn’t even know he was holding before he gave a soft laugh.   
  


“I wonder if the human side of you would believe me if I told you what was happening right now,” He said and smirked. “You’re… much more gentle than I thought you would be,” He tilted his head and watched Hanzo relax under his petting and before McCree knew what was happening, Hanzo was sound asleep once more. 

 

McCree stayed like this for a while, enjoying the closeness now that he had come to terms with Hanzo’s dragon not being a threat to him. He smiled warmly before he moved and turned, leaning his back against the dragon. He slid down and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the creature, letting the slow inhale and exhale of Hanzo lull him to sleep as well. 

 

When McCree wakes up the last thing that he expects is to wake up with the feeling of weight across his lap. At first McCree panicked, not realizing where he was at first until his thoughts came rushing back to him in a blur and he remembered where he was. He opened his eyes and looked down, freezing when he’d noticed Hanzo’s head was resting across his lap and he was curled in a “U” shape around McCree. It was warm, and McCree felt… safe, a little at ease. He brushed his fingers across Hanzo’s snout and couldn’t help himself from smiling, wondering how they’d ended up like this in the first place, wondering why the man and the beast were so different from each other. And the gentler one wasn’t even what McCree would have expected.

 

McCree stays like that, letting Hanzo continue to sleep until he felt Hanzo’s head jerk from under him. McCree pulls away. “Hanzo…?” He watched as the dragon scrambled away from him, recoiling as though he’d been burned as the beast cried out in pain, his body thrashing. 

 

McCree backed himself away as far as he could, not wanting to be in the path of the rampage while Hanzo hunched over. He heard the sickening crunching of bones unmistakably breaking as the dragon’s body started to shrink down until there was nothing left but the man. Hanzo hunched over on all fours, sweating and panting as his limbs trembled before he rose shakily up to his feet. He looked really disheveled and McCree frowned, Hanzo not seeming to notice that he was even there.

  
“Hanzo…?” He asked and moved toward the man.

 

Hanzo’s head snapped in the direction of McCree and he snarled at the man, causing McCree to falter in his steps. Before the man could even comprehend what was happening, Hanzo was gone, leaving the safety of the home in favor of running out into the snow. 

  
“HANZO!” McCree called after the man, but was met with silence.  


	6. Playing with Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McCree gets Hanzo to open up a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this has taken me so long to get out!! I'm at the end of my semester and this has been my hardest semester of college yet. Rushing my way through finals to just get it over with lmao. Thank you to everyone for all of the positive feedback it makes me feel really good! As always, if you want to contact my [tumblr you can do so here.](http://www.hauntedpunk.tumblr.com)

McCree had decided that maybe he wasn’t getting paid enough for this job. He’d just been paid to come up to the top of this mountain and to get answers from Hanzo. The supposed man who seemed to be more in tune with his dragon side than actually being a human. That probably wasn’t the archer’s fault, as not many people came up this mountain to see him. It didn’t make things any easier though.

 

McCree had lost track of how long he’d been out there looking for Hanzo, but he felt like his fingers were going to fall off they were becoming so numb. He sniffed and shivered lightly as he rubbed his arms around himself. He was convinced that he probably wouldn’t find Hanzo, but he didn’t want to give up on the man. He didn’t even know why Hanzo had left in the first place. Every time McCree thought he had the least bit of understanding for Hanzo the other man threw him for a loop all over again. Hanzo still didn’t seem to trust McCree, which McCree also didn’t blame Hanzo for. He would probably learn in time, and McCree didn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Or at least that’s what his boss made it appear like. Maybe he should ask for a raise. He wasn’t being paid to babysit and chase a naked man through the forest. Aside from that, wasn’t Hanzo cold? He had to be, McCree was fully clothed and he felt like he was going to freeze to death.

 

“Stupid pretty boys makin’ everythin’ more difficult than it has to be,” McCree muttered under his breath, coming out in clouds of smoke with the cold air. He almost wanted to call it a night until he saw a shimmer of green and his shoulders slumped, moving his way through and over broken down trees until he’d come up to find Hanzo. The dragon was laying down in the snow again, looking exhausted and… sad? McCree was still trying to figure out Hanzo. It was hard to learn the two different sides of him, but McCree felt like he understood the dragon more than the man. 

 

“How’d ya end up all the way out here?” McCree asked and frowned as he rubbed his hands on his arms as he made his way over to Hanzo. “Ya made a mess of all off the trees, too.” He said and rolled his eyes. “What did they ever to t’you?” He asked and smirked as he turned toward the dragon, hearing the scoffing sound and McCree couldn’t help himself from laughing. “Okay, that’s ‘nough of throwin’ this temper tantrum,” He said as he clapped his hands together. “Let’s get back inside before I freeze my balls off,” He motioned back in the general direction of where he assumed Hanzo’s home was. He hadn’t exactly been paying attention while he was roaming around, so he was almost positive he would need help to get back. He was pretty lost.

 

Hanzo eyed him up for a few moments before he stood himself back up and shook the snow off of himself, the dragon grunting and rolling its shoulders. McCree stumbled a little when he felt the ground begin to quake underneath him before he watched the scales on the dragon’s body begin to slide and fall off, his body growing smaller as he transformed into a man once more. Hanzo stood there in all of his glory, adjusting himself to his smaller form as he grabbed for his hair band and put his hair back up.

 

McCree’s eyes wandered on their own accord, traveling across Hanzo’s collarbone to the tattoo that took up a little more than half of his chest, traveling down his arm to his wrist. McCree’s eyes followed it over to the dip of Hanzo’s hip and down farther. He cleared his throat, a bright flush coming over his face. McCree wasn’t innocent by any means, but he was only human and got a little flustered. Hanzo was beautiful in every sense of the word and it did things to McCree. He grabbed at his serape and pulled it off, turning his head politely as he walked over to Hanzo. “... Here,” He mumbled and held it up to Hanzo. The other man didn’t seem to mind his own nudity, which was okay except for the fact that it was very distracting for McCree.

 

Hanzo’s eyes traveled to the serape and he glanced back at McCree, a slow smirk coming to his lips. “Does nudity bother you, boy?” He asked as he grabbed for the serape and let it drape around him, the clothing covering up the important parts of him. 

 

“No,” McCree bristled and turned his attention back to Hanzo now that he was covered. “Nudity is somethin’ I’m pretty familiar with, an’ it’s cold as shit out here. Doesn’t that bother you?” He asked as he turned and motioned for Hanzo to take the lead.

 

“Mmm,” Hanzo didn’t sound convinced, but he moved and took the lead anyways. He shook his head. “When I had been… “ He stopped and frowned. “When I had first turned into the dragon, not much has bothered me since then. I do not really feel the heat or the cold.”

 

“Huh. Neat trick,” McCree said as he followed quietly after the other man. “Wish I coulda had somethin’ like that back in my days of Blackwatch,” He said and smirked. “Woulda really came in handy with how much I had to travel around.”

 

Hanzo raised an eyebrow. “Blackwatch?” He tried not to sound like he was too interested in it. Blackwatch hadn’t been something that Hanzo had even heard about, but the name intrigued him. 

 

“It’s…” McCree frowned. “Not exactly something that I’m proud of,” He admitted and shrugged. “We all have our dark parts of our past, right?” He asked and smirked. “I’m not try’na defend myself or anything. I know everything that I did was shit and I wasn’t exactly a great man back then. But things are different now, and I’d like to think I can leave it in the past where it belongs.” He had spent too long thinking about his days in Blackwatch. The worst parts of it clouding him in his days during Overwatch. Angela had been the one to tell him all of that. Angela and Ana taught him to leave things in the past where they had belonged and that there was no sense in stewing over something that couldn’t be changed. It had taken some time but McCree had learned to move past it. The nightmares had mostly stopped, and McCree hardly thought about it anymore. It wasn’t so hard to talk about, but it wasn’t something that he really enjoyed telling people. So he tried not to bring it up if he could help it.

 

Hanzo nodded, staying silent as they navigated through the trees. McCree didn’t have to say anything for the man to take the hint that the sharpshooter no longer wanted to talk about it. Hanzo wasn’t going to push it. There were some things that he didn’t want to talk about either, so he would be a bit of a hypocrite to McCree if he’d forced the man to speak about something if he wasn’t even willing to share his own story. McCree was right, everyone had their dark pasts. Hanzo still couldn’t let himself move past what had happened with his brother. It had been fifteen years, but it was still a dark cloud around him. He’d tried to tell himself that it had been his burden and his duty to take his brother’s life. That didn’t make anything any easier, though. He had been the reason that his brother was dead. He’d thought he was doing the right thing at the time, but now that he’d had so long to think about it he wondered if it really had been. 

 

Hanzo was too busy lost in his own thoughts to realize that McCree had even been talking to him.    
  


“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” McCree asked as he looked at Hanzo, sighing when the other man shook his head. “... Never mind then, don’t worry about it. Wasn’t that important anyway,” He said and shrugged it off, looking up and seeing the light from Hanzo’s home over the next hill. “.... Were we really this close to your house the entire time?” He asked, almost pissed off at himself that he hadn’t realized he’d pretty much been walking around in circles before he had actually found Hanzo. Everything in this damn forest looked the same so he had a hard time navigating it, especially after dark. There was no clear way for him to see where he was going.

 

“I did not have enough energy to make it very far,” Hanzo admitted after a moment of hesitation. He didn’t want to admit his slightly weakened state. He walked with McCree into his home and pulled McCree’s serape off, returning it to McCree before he walked down one of the hallways. McCree was polite enough to stay where he was, letting the serape drape around his shoulders once more. He leaned himself against the wall by the door after removing his shoes, shaking the snow off of his hat while he waited for Hanzo to come back.

 

“... You did not have to wait by the door,” Hanzo explained as he rounded the corner and frowned, tossing a towel in McCree’s direction to let the man dry himself off. Maybe Hanzo’s manners weren’t entirely barbaric. McCree thanked the man and ran the towel through his hair and brushed his clothes off, trying to dry up the worst of the wet spots on the bottom of his pants before he walked toward Hanzo. “What do ya want me to do with this?” He asked and held up the towel.

 

Hanzo grabbed the towel from him and motioned toward the hallway. “The kitchen is on the left just down that hallway, wait there for me,” He said as he turned and exited down a different hallway to dispose of the towel in his hamper. 

 

McCree did as he was told, walking down one of the separate hallways down to the kitchen. It wasn’t big, but it was open and connected to what McCree could only assume was a dining area with mats and a table on the floor. He looked back as Hanzo made his way into the kitchen. “Do you like tea?” He asked over his shoulder at McCree.

“I’m more of a coffee man myself--” Seeing the man’s eyes narrow though, McCree gave a small shrug. “But I could deal with tea. Won’t turn down yer generosity,” He said and leaned himself against the counter while Hanzo prepared the tea, grabbing two cups from the cupboard to set them on the counter while he waited for the hot water. 

 

“... You don’t get guests very often, do ya?” McCree asked as he crossed his arms behind his head, getting comfortable leaning against the counter.

 

Hanzo’s eyes narrowed once more, giving McCree a sideways glance before he looked away.

 

“Ya know, if you keep making that face yer face is gonna stick like that,” McCree smirked. He was pretty sure that Hanzo couldn’t express emotions even if he wanted to. He was perpetually angry and brooding all the time, which was also doing it for McCree. 

 

“If you keep talking like that the stupidity will get to your head,” Hanzo replied coolly as he grabbed the kettle and poured the two cups of tea, grabbing his without adding anything into it as he pushed the other one toward McCree.

 

“What’s wrong with the way I talk?” McCree made a face as he grabbed for the cup. “Been talkin’ like this since I was a kid,” He snorted. “Ain’t nothin’ to do with how smart I am,” He said and crossed his arms over his chest. He prided himself in being pretty smart, all things considered. Granted, Hanzo seemed to have more knowledge than him, or at least was wiser. But McCree felt like he probably had more life experience, he hadn’t actually gotten much of any information out of Hanzo at all. Maybe they had similar backgrounds. But as far as McCree knew, Hanzo had spent the last fifteen years up here and probably didn’t have anything else to do to pass the time then read or some shit. 

 

Hanzo smirked over the top of his cup, satisfied with himself for seeming to get under McCree’s skin as he sipped his tea and walked himself over toward the table. He sat himself down on one of the mats and set his cup down on the table, getting himself comfortable. “Maybe you have been like this for so long that not even you realize your idiocy,” He mused as he looked over at McCree, seeing that he was getting to the man. He was easily riled, which was amusing to Hanzo in a way that didn’t make sense to him. 

 

“It’s no wonder ya don’t get much company up here,” McCree snorted lightly before he grabbed for his own cup and headed toward the table with Hanzo, sitting himself down across from the other man as he sipped from the tea. “Ya don’t have very good manners with people,” He pointed out as he smirked. “Maybe I could teach ya a thing or two about how to be nice to people.” 

 

“There is nothing wrong with my manners,” Hanzo pointed out and frowned. “But you are correct to assume that I do not get much company up here. I have not had a single person aside from myself sit at this table in fifteen years,” He explained and brought the cup to his mouth once more.

 

McCree inhaled as he drank, coughing harshly as he set the cup down and covered his hand over his mouth, eyes watering at the soreness in his throat once the coughing had finally settled down. “Ya mean to tell me that I’m the first guest you’ve had in over a decade?!” He said once he’d found his voice again, wiping the tears from his eyes.

 

Hanzo blinked, a little amused that he’d caught McCree so off guard. “Is there a problem with that?” He asked and finished off his tea, pushing the cup away from him. “Not many people find a dragon to be very good company to have,” He brushed his finger around the rim of the glass and frowned. “It does not bother me. I prefer solitude, it is easier this way. Less complicated.” He turned to look at McCree. 

 

“I… guess I see where yer coming from,” McCree murmured and frowned. “But that doesn’t mean I gotta be happy about it,” He sighed. He almost felt bad for what he had said now. “I mean, if it’s something that you prefer then I guess it can’t be helped,” He said and finished off his own cup. He hoped that he could change Hanzo’s mind, if only a little bit. He was starting to enjoy Hanzo’s company now that they were actually civilly talking. 

 

“Do not pity me,” Hanzo’s voice cut in and frowned. “I do not need such a thing. And do not try to say that you were not pitying, because I know that look.” He sighed. “I do not enjoy the company because it is exhausting. I do not spend enough time around people to understand them anymore,” He frowned.

 

McCree blinked. This was the most that he’d gotten out of Hanzo since he had met the man. He didn’t want to try his luck too much, but if Hanzo was in a talkative move he couldn’t help but want to ask him more. He brushed his thumb over the cup in front of him. 

 

“I wouldn’t call it pity,” McCree pointed out and shrugged as he watched Hanzo get up to his feet to go and get himself another cup of tea. “So… why me?” He asked and tilted his head. “Why suddenly decide to let someone else in?” He asked, after he’d asked it he almost instantly regretted it. He might have just ruined his chances with Hanzo completely and he winced lightly, almost afraid of being thrown from the man’s home.

 

Hanzo paused in his movements and frowned, his eyebrows pulling together in a small scowl. When he had turned to face McCree, the scowl was gone, replaced with a smirk. “You are not the type of man to take no for an answer, am I wrong?” He asked and motioned for McCree’s cup, the sharpshooter simply shook his head and Hanzo brushed it off as he sat back down, sipping from his second cup.

 

“Guess ya caught me red handed,” McCree said and smirked. “Ya know, a lot of people made you seem to be big and scary, but yer really not,” He mused and laughed. “Yer just a little rough ‘round the edges, but not something that I ain’t used to. S’what I’ve been dealing with my whole life. Being surrounded by people who are rough around the edges,” He lets his mind barely wander to Gabriel. 

 

“Mmm,” Hanzo let McCree know that he was listening, not entirely interested in it but humoring McCree enough while the man was here. 

 

A silence came over the room and normally it’s not something that would bother McCree, but he felt uncomfortable. A little on edge and restless. He watched Hanzo, the man obviously deep in thought. “Why do you only have a limited time as a man? But seemingly endless time as a dragon?” He asked.

 

Hanzo’s trademark frown was back, setting his cup down to turn his attention to McCree. “It was… once easy, to switch between the two of them,” He explained. He didn’t really want to talk about this, but McCree would continue to ask questions unless he started answering some of them. Hanzo couldn’t bring himself to kick McCree out, either. The man was unnaturally comfortable around the cowboy, he felt at ease. More so than he’d been in a long time. 

 

“When this had first happened to me, I did not know how to change back,” Hanzo was staring at the cup now, living in his past. “... When I had finally found out how, I had tried living in this form. I lasted a while this way, before I finally started to feel it. The dragon,” He motioned toward his arm. “And I could no longer hold it back before the dragon came forth. The time between being a man and feeling the dragon’s need to take over has steadily decreased over time. I spend about half the day in each body now. I f--” He paused, stopping suddenly.

  
“I have spoken too much,” He frowned. “You must leave,” He said suddenly.

 

McCree froze. “What?” He asked and frowned,  this was starting to feel like a weird case of deja vu. McCree was so hot and cold with him that it gave him whiplash. He didn’t know how to handle the man. The dragon was easy to be around. He couldn’t talk back.

 

“Look, Hanzo-- if i did anything to upset ya I didn’t mean it,” McCree explained. “Ya don’t have to tell me anything that yer not comfortable with telling me.”

  
“I know,” Hanzo said. “That is the problem here. I am comfortable with it. Too comfortable,” His voice was soft. 


End file.
